Listening to the Dark Star now. Well, obviously a good show, and bringing out Attics in addition to DS was an aesthetically smart move: by this time, DS was a bit like the rainbow: precious precisely because of its unreachability; or like HP Lovecraft's Necronomicon: he could never have written that book without disappointing everybody with the reality of what he had previously only hinted at. Without Attics, everything in the show after the first verse of DS would have felt lame afterwards.

This DS is actually at least the second best late period one I've heard, but that's not really saying much. It was a song that was formed partly by the equipment they were using in the '60s, and after that they all got on the "loud-'n'-clean" craze that made early '70s Dead sound, for me, so harsh, jarring, unpleasant and boring. It's not until '73 that I can listen to a DS all the way through, and the late period ones...well, some (like this one) are awesome, but it just doesn't sound "built" for the later period sound systems. MIDI synths and Japanese effects pedals are no substitute for desperately modded blackface Fender amps and Gibson humbucking pickups. But you can't play to a crowd this size with what you can carry in a small van.

The reappearance of the Wolf (Garcia's maple-topped Alembic guitar) is more interesting, and it's funny that when he's using its "dry" tone (MIDI off), it sounds absolutely no different than the Tiger. Goes to show that the axe is a small part of the whole rig.

Brings chills over my head and down my spine to hear the audiences blissful cries during the most surprising moments of the show.

Imagine.

What a year for Grateful Dead.

a copy of the recording that I had for so many years!

FOB :)

awesome tape of a historic show.

thanks to all involved in getting this out there.